United Kingdom

United States

Friday Fun for the IT Crowd: Fourth of July edition

This may be the Fourth of July edition of “Friday Fun for the IT crowd,” but I have a confession to make: I posted this on Thursday, July 3. That’s because I’m not expected to be on call 24x7, including holidays … unlike many of my IT colleagues. Skip to the bottom if you want to learn more about why your peers are so stressed out and how many are contemplating a job change.

Can Facebook alter your mood? Sure, seeing all those adorable babies, fabulous vacations and delectable meals might turn your green heart blue (or just really irritated). But would Facebook make you sad on purpose? You betcha.

The company argues that it told us so in the privacy policy—kind of. But does anyone really read all those lengthy privacy policies? In case you feel like a slacker for not studying the fine print, consider what reading all those lengthy tomes would really cost you.

Will an app help you declare independence from parking woes this Fourth?

Maybe, but do you really want to be that guy? Searching for public parking—and all the other ways in which we compete for limited but fairly distributed public resources—is a great equalizer. The rich do it (although not as much since they can afford parking garages when available), the middle class do it, the poor do it. And while newer apps can make identifying open parking or predicting DMV wait times more efficient, buying it at the expense of other users seems kind of icky. What’s next? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

IT stress and pride

And finally, are you unduly excited about having an Independence Day break? Or worse, dreading it because your job is too critical for you to check out? Check out our IT Stress and Pride infographic 2014 reboot and find out what percentage of your peers are expected to available 24x7—even on vacation.

Lisa Dare is a marketing writer for TEKsystems who enjoys learning about IT from some of the smartest folks in tech. A former HR staffer, Lisa frequently blogs about work-life balance and career advice.